CMS Proposed Rule on Nursing Home Ownership Transparency (SNF)

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently posted a proposed rule to increase ownership, managerial, and other information required to be disclosed by Medicare and Medicaid funded nursing facilities. The proposed rule would implement provisions of the 2010 Affordable Care Act requiring disclosure of information about nursing home ownership and oversight. CMS states that this additional data would give a more complete background on the organizations and individuals who own, oversee, and facilitate the operations of nursing facilities. 

The reporting would be required upon initial enrollment and revalidation or as a part of any change of ownership. Medicare and Medicaid facilities would use CMS Form CMS-885A. For Medicaid-only nursing facilities, the data would be pulled from reported changes shared with licensure activity by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA).

CMS is further proposing several definitions to assist nursing facilities in furnishing the requested data. This includes, for purposes of Medicare enrollment, definitions of private equity company and real estate investment trust. CMS intends to make the reported data publicly available if this rule is finalized. However, before doing so, CMS would provide more information after the final rule is published regarding the timing, vehicle, and content. This CMS fact sheet includes additional information on the proposal.